fackue
September 8th, 2006, 23:11
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ
Is my Dreamcast compatible?
Do I need a modchip?
What discs should I use?
Does it also work with CD-RW?
How about DVD's?
Will a CD-R damage my laser?
Which should I get? The 'plain files', 'DiscJuggler image' or 'Nero image'?
How can I get multiple emulators/homebrew apps on one disc?
If a new version is released, should I use a new CD-R or can it be burned to an old CD?
What are scrambled/unscrambled files?
What's a selfboot?
How do I make a selfboot disc?
What should I do if I can't burn selfboot discs?
How do I burn .rar files?
Is my Dreamcast compatible?
Most Dreamcasts are. If you have a PAL Dreamcast then you don't have anything to worry about. If you have a NTSC Dreamcast check to make sure it's manufactured before October 2000. You should also check the revision number. It's a circled number near the manufacter date. It's either 0, 1 or 2. If it's a 2 then your Dreamcast (most likey) isn't compatible. Some of the 2 Dreamcasts are compatible.
Do I need a modchip?
No. If you like to play imported games from different regions other then your system is, then a modchip might be a good idea. The only use a modchip has is to boot imports without a boot disc like Gameshark or any other boot discs available.
What discs should I use?
Usually shouldn't cause a problem. I use the 100 pack TDK discs, some use the cheap Office Depot discs, some use Verbatum, some use Memorex. In the past I have had problems getting my Dreamcast to recognize Memorex CD-Rs so watch out.
Does it also work with CD-RW?
Short answer: no. Unless your Dreamcast magically plays CD-RW's out of the box it won't read them without tweaking the laser to have a stronger beam, which in turns will lessen the life of the GD-ROM drive.
How about DVD's?
No. No way, no how.
Will a CD-R damage my laser?
There's been a lot of talk about whether a CD-R damages the Dreamcast's laser. The short answer is no. Most homebrew games load directly into the Dreamcast's main RAM, which makes the CD basically stalled in the drive, not spinning or being read. For CD's that require extensive loading you might feel safer adding a dummy file (that pushes the game data to the outer edge of the CD) to the CD. As a result, your games will also load a little faster.
Which should I get? The 'plain files', 'DiscJuggler image' or 'Nero image'?
That all depends on what you wanna do and what you're burning. For the most part (if you're new) you might wanna start off downloading the DiscJuggler image. There's a lot of variables to take into consideration when you're dealing with Nero images (DAO, TAO, old version, new version), so just stick with DJ images (unless you decide to get plain files).
If you do decide Nero is the best format for you you'll need to figure out the format of the image. If the image is label "Nero 5" or "Nero DAO" then it should be a DAO image which means Nero 5.5 and older only support it. "Nero 6" or "Nero TAO" labeled images mean Nero 6.0 and later only support it.
Plain files let you be more flexable with your CD, meaning you can put ROMs (if you downloaded an emulator), pictures (if you downloaded a picture viewer) or even MP3s (again if you downloaded an MP3 player) on the same disc. This means you don't have to swap CDs.
If you burned a emulator using a pre-build CD image, you will need to use a swap CD that contains MP3, ROMs or pictures depending on the app you burned. Be sure to follow th app's disc layout (read it's readme for more information on where to put the files).
How can I get multiple emulators/homebrew apps on one disc?
Simple. Head on over to Sbiffy! (http://www.consolevision.com/members/sbiffy/) and grab Selfboot Inducer 4. There's a tutorial on the main GUI once installed. Not too long ago, DCHelp took over Sbiffy! and now maintain the Sbi file database. You can get most recent Sbi releases at DCHelp (http://www.dchelp.net/sbi/).
If a new version is released, should I use a new CD-R or can it be burned to an old CD?
If you feel like saving CD-Rs, then using what we call a multisession CD is best. There's a nice tutorial of how to get that working over here (http://www.consolevision.com/?Dreamcast:Tutorials:How_to_use_multisession_CDs).
What are scrambled/unscrambled files?
Sega's attempt at copy protection. Unscrambled files are loaded directly without any sort of scrambled loading. Homebrew apps such as DemoMenu, DCHakker, and Dream Inducer use them. Scrambled files are unscrambled files with it's data randomized in chunks within the file. Scrambled files are needed when making a selfboot CD and can also be used with DemoMenu and DCHakker. This (http://consolevision.com/members/dchelp/?My_Projects:1st_read.bin_file_checker) tool is available to manipulate scrambling and unscrambling.
What's a selfboot?
Selfboot means you can put a burned CD in your Dreamcast and it will play without any sort of modchip or boot disc.
How do I make a selfboot disc?
The easiest way to make a selfboot disc is to use a selfboot program. There's a few available. The most used are BootDreams, Selfboot, and Selfboot Inducer. You'll also need to download the plain files of the homebrew app you want.
What should I do if I can't burn selfboot discs?
There's a lot of answers to this question. The obvious answers are make sure the main file (usually 1ST_READ.BIN) is scrambled, you're burning at 8x (or slower), the CD isn't scratched or dirty.
Depending on the format of your CD image (DiscJuggler or Nero) you can also run into problems with the image settings. Not too long ago Alcohol 120% (http://www.alcohol-soft.com/) was release and made the need of installing both DiscJuggler and Nero obsolete as it supports both DiscJuggler and Nero images. When burning, leave the default settings in Alcohol 120% as is.
How do I burn .rar files?
RAR files are actually a compressed archive. That means you need to download a 3rd party tool to extract files from inside the archive. There are a few tools you can use like 7-Zip (http://www.7zip.org) (free) or WinRAR (http://www.rarlabs.com) (nagware). Ususally warezed games come in multi-part RAR archives meaning there's more than one RAR. Since we don't condone that sort of thing, I won't go any further.
----------
Thanks to the following people:
Cid Highwind
Juan
Is my Dreamcast compatible?
Do I need a modchip?
What discs should I use?
Does it also work with CD-RW?
How about DVD's?
Will a CD-R damage my laser?
Which should I get? The 'plain files', 'DiscJuggler image' or 'Nero image'?
How can I get multiple emulators/homebrew apps on one disc?
If a new version is released, should I use a new CD-R or can it be burned to an old CD?
What are scrambled/unscrambled files?
What's a selfboot?
How do I make a selfboot disc?
What should I do if I can't burn selfboot discs?
How do I burn .rar files?
Is my Dreamcast compatible?
Most Dreamcasts are. If you have a PAL Dreamcast then you don't have anything to worry about. If you have a NTSC Dreamcast check to make sure it's manufactured before October 2000. You should also check the revision number. It's a circled number near the manufacter date. It's either 0, 1 or 2. If it's a 2 then your Dreamcast (most likey) isn't compatible. Some of the 2 Dreamcasts are compatible.
Do I need a modchip?
No. If you like to play imported games from different regions other then your system is, then a modchip might be a good idea. The only use a modchip has is to boot imports without a boot disc like Gameshark or any other boot discs available.
What discs should I use?
Usually shouldn't cause a problem. I use the 100 pack TDK discs, some use the cheap Office Depot discs, some use Verbatum, some use Memorex. In the past I have had problems getting my Dreamcast to recognize Memorex CD-Rs so watch out.
Does it also work with CD-RW?
Short answer: no. Unless your Dreamcast magically plays CD-RW's out of the box it won't read them without tweaking the laser to have a stronger beam, which in turns will lessen the life of the GD-ROM drive.
How about DVD's?
No. No way, no how.
Will a CD-R damage my laser?
There's been a lot of talk about whether a CD-R damages the Dreamcast's laser. The short answer is no. Most homebrew games load directly into the Dreamcast's main RAM, which makes the CD basically stalled in the drive, not spinning or being read. For CD's that require extensive loading you might feel safer adding a dummy file (that pushes the game data to the outer edge of the CD) to the CD. As a result, your games will also load a little faster.
Which should I get? The 'plain files', 'DiscJuggler image' or 'Nero image'?
That all depends on what you wanna do and what you're burning. For the most part (if you're new) you might wanna start off downloading the DiscJuggler image. There's a lot of variables to take into consideration when you're dealing with Nero images (DAO, TAO, old version, new version), so just stick with DJ images (unless you decide to get plain files).
If you do decide Nero is the best format for you you'll need to figure out the format of the image. If the image is label "Nero 5" or "Nero DAO" then it should be a DAO image which means Nero 5.5 and older only support it. "Nero 6" or "Nero TAO" labeled images mean Nero 6.0 and later only support it.
Plain files let you be more flexable with your CD, meaning you can put ROMs (if you downloaded an emulator), pictures (if you downloaded a picture viewer) or even MP3s (again if you downloaded an MP3 player) on the same disc. This means you don't have to swap CDs.
If you burned a emulator using a pre-build CD image, you will need to use a swap CD that contains MP3, ROMs or pictures depending on the app you burned. Be sure to follow th app's disc layout (read it's readme for more information on where to put the files).
How can I get multiple emulators/homebrew apps on one disc?
Simple. Head on over to Sbiffy! (http://www.consolevision.com/members/sbiffy/) and grab Selfboot Inducer 4. There's a tutorial on the main GUI once installed. Not too long ago, DCHelp took over Sbiffy! and now maintain the Sbi file database. You can get most recent Sbi releases at DCHelp (http://www.dchelp.net/sbi/).
If a new version is released, should I use a new CD-R or can it be burned to an old CD?
If you feel like saving CD-Rs, then using what we call a multisession CD is best. There's a nice tutorial of how to get that working over here (http://www.consolevision.com/?Dreamcast:Tutorials:How_to_use_multisession_CDs).
What are scrambled/unscrambled files?
Sega's attempt at copy protection. Unscrambled files are loaded directly without any sort of scrambled loading. Homebrew apps such as DemoMenu, DCHakker, and Dream Inducer use them. Scrambled files are unscrambled files with it's data randomized in chunks within the file. Scrambled files are needed when making a selfboot CD and can also be used with DemoMenu and DCHakker. This (http://consolevision.com/members/dchelp/?My_Projects:1st_read.bin_file_checker) tool is available to manipulate scrambling and unscrambling.
What's a selfboot?
Selfboot means you can put a burned CD in your Dreamcast and it will play without any sort of modchip or boot disc.
How do I make a selfboot disc?
The easiest way to make a selfboot disc is to use a selfboot program. There's a few available. The most used are BootDreams, Selfboot, and Selfboot Inducer. You'll also need to download the plain files of the homebrew app you want.
What should I do if I can't burn selfboot discs?
There's a lot of answers to this question. The obvious answers are make sure the main file (usually 1ST_READ.BIN) is scrambled, you're burning at 8x (or slower), the CD isn't scratched or dirty.
Depending on the format of your CD image (DiscJuggler or Nero) you can also run into problems with the image settings. Not too long ago Alcohol 120% (http://www.alcohol-soft.com/) was release and made the need of installing both DiscJuggler and Nero obsolete as it supports both DiscJuggler and Nero images. When burning, leave the default settings in Alcohol 120% as is.
How do I burn .rar files?
RAR files are actually a compressed archive. That means you need to download a 3rd party tool to extract files from inside the archive. There are a few tools you can use like 7-Zip (http://www.7zip.org) (free) or WinRAR (http://www.rarlabs.com) (nagware). Ususally warezed games come in multi-part RAR archives meaning there's more than one RAR. Since we don't condone that sort of thing, I won't go any further.
----------
Thanks to the following people:
Cid Highwind
Juan